Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan will turn out for MI Emirates in this season’s ILT20 after England all-rounder Jordan Thompson was ruled out with injury. The franchise confirmed the switch on Wednesday, describing Rashid as “a proven match-winner who strengthens any XI”.
Rashid, 27, is already embedded in the Mumbai Indians ecosystem. He captains MI Cape Town in the SA20 and guided them to their first title in February, recalling afterwards: “Lifting a trophy with this group was special.” He also represented MI New York in Major League Cricket in 2023 and 2024, though he skipped the US competition this year to manage workload. A brief two-match stint for MI Emirates in 2023 brought four wickets and, according to head coach Shane Bond, “showed exactly why teams keep coming back for him”.
Even so, supporters should not expect a full ILT20 campaign. The tournament runs until 4 January but Rashid is expected to depart around 20 December to rejoin MI Cape Town ahead of their season opener against Durban’s Super Giants on Boxing Day.
Kieron Pollard’s Emirates side begin their title defence against Gulf Giants in Dubai on 4 December. Pollard kept expectations measured, saying, “We’ll take things game by game; doing the basics well usually sorts the rest.” The franchise have reached the play-offs in each of the competition’s first three editions and lifted the trophy in 2024.
The new season started on 2 December, Desert Vipers beating reigning champions Dubai Capitals. With Thompson sidelined and Rashid available only for the opening phase, MI Emirates may again need their experienced core – Pollard, Trent Boult and Nicholas Pooran – to shoulder a hefty share of the workload. Still, few bowlers offer Rashid’s mix of control, variations and late-innings hitting, even in a truncated spell.
As Bond observed, “Give Rashid ten good overs across a week and he can flip a tournament.”
